The relationship between insurance coverage on Iranian Households' use of dental services

 Health has always been one of the most important concerns of mankind, and without oral and dental health, the bodychr('39')s general health cannot be guaranteed. Having health insurance has always been one of the factors facilitating the use of health services and this study is aimed to identify and investigate the impact of insurance coverage on the use of family dental services in Iran.

 The present study is a descriptive-analytical and cross-sectional study based on data from National Expenditure Survey by Statistics Center of Iran during 2013-2012. Logistic regression model was used to estimate the effect of independent variables on the dependent variable. The sample size of the study was 116469 households in rural areas and 112685 households in urban areas and 229154 households in the country as a whole. Data were analyzed using Microsoft Access, Microsoft Excel and 14 STATA software.

 Of the 229,154 households surveyed, 11,392 households (4.98%) had dental services during the 6-year period. The results show that provinces with a high level of development (in terms of access to health services) had higher use of dental services (p-value<0/001). Urban households with insurance coverage, more literate people, and households with fewer elderly people have used dental services (p-value<0/001). Wealthier households (higher income quintiles) than poor households (lower income quintiles.  And families that had self-care (using floss, toothbrushes and toothpaste) had more dental services than families who did not (p-value<0/001).

 Effective evidence-based interventions to improve the use of dental services among uninsured households, elderly people, low education status, residents of less developed provinces, and rural households should be prioritized by policy makers and planners.